They're Back - Online

We all love a good come-back. I was really pulling for Whitney, but it just didn't materialize. Sigh. But that's another matter all together.

With great sadness, we've been witnessing the decline of the magazine industry for the last few years. I personally don't think they will ever go away completely, but it's still hard to see great magazines fold. Like Gourmet, Metropolitan Home, Domino, and my personal favorite Cargo. So many great BRANDS that just couldn't make it work anymore, despite their loyal consumers.

Well maybe not anymore!

They are coming back, reincarnated online! Makes a tremendous amount of sense, especially now with the iPad which is revolutionizing how we "read". I am so happy to see that there's still a need for these publications -- it's just that their old format became inefficient.

Conde Naste just announced that Gourmet will be back as an app -- with Domino likely to follow. Now these re-births are also re-inventions in that they are much more tech savvy and not necessarily filled with the same kind of editorial we once knew from these brands. But that's ok, brands should evolve over time to keep pace with their consumers and how they live their lives. Due out in November, the new Gourmet app, for example, is chocked full of recipes and rewards as opposed to tons of great literary content.

One of the first to blaze the trail? Two former Domino folks started Lonny, an online home magazine. It reads just like a magazine -- just flip through the pages of advertisements and pictorials of room decor. Only now you can click on what you want and zoom around. Much more interactive, obviously.

Welcome back!

What's your experience? Jim